Romans 9:11-21: Election/Predestination

Romans 9:11, 16 "...though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—...so then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy."

The doctrine of election, also known as predestination, is often disputed within the body of the church. When I speak of election, I speak of the "act of God before creation in which he chooses some people to be saved, not on account of any foreseen merit in them, but only because of his sovereign good pleasure."1 To this great doctrine we turn this morning.

Before we discuss this election, I would like to point out a few things:

1. No one ought to use the doctrine of election as a beating rod of truth. To do so is helpful to no one and a detriment to him who does it. Beating people with the truth because one person understands it and someone else doesn't just creates pharisees, legalists, and arrogant theologians. [This is why we refer to a "cage stage," for those of you who may have heard that term before.]

2. The doctrine of election is, in fact, hard to understand, especially in western, 21st century culture. Not only is the union between God's sovereignty and man's responsibility difficult (and in fact impossible) to understand, it gets all the more harder when our culture tells us that everything is about us, and that we have the right to make all of our own choices. To present the doctrine of election as easy to understand is, once again, helpful to no one.

3. It does not matter what you think, nor what you feel, but rather what the Bible says. When considering the doctrine of election, many people approach it by saying "I don't think God would..." or "I feel as if God would not..." Though we must not neglect our own logical reasoning and thought process, we must remember that the Bible is our standard of truth, not our own thoughts.

With these three statements as our backdrop, let us turn to Romans 9 to find out what the Bible says about the docrine of election.

All of the guys in my small group at home know that Romans 9 is my favorite chapter throughout all of scripture. I would often say that "all roads lead to Romans 9" [pun intended]. But why? Why is this chaper so important? Ultimately, because it manifests for us the beauty and right understanding of the doctrine of election (which we will discuss today) as well as gives us the answer for why God has permitted evil (which we will discuss tomorrow).

Firstly, lest there be any objection, let us determine the context of Romans 9. In verse eleven (quoted above), we find that Paul is talking about election. He is arguing the fact that "not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel" (meaning that not all of those who are racially Jewish are true children of God, that is, truly saved) by showing that this was "in order that God's purpose of election might continue." Paul here, in Romans 9, is speaking about the doctrine of election.

Secondly, let us look at what Paul first says about God's justice in election. See verse 14: "What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means!" The largest objection to election is that it would make God "unfair" or "unjust." Paul says that this is not so, and he literally says it outrightly in scripture. From our point of view, God's choosing of some for eternal life and his neglecting of others seems unfair, but remember: it doesn't matter what we think, it matters what the Bible says. But how is this possible? Paul continues: "For he says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy'...so then it depends not on human will...but on God, who has mercy." Note that the accent here is not on who God did not chose, but rather on who God did choose--that is, on whom God had mercy. Here we find the basis for the doctrine of election: human depravity. The question is not "Why did God not save some?" but rather "Why did God save any?" We must remember that God would have been fully and entirely just to send us all to hell and save no one (this is the truth of Romans 1-3). Upon this foundation, the doctrine of election can be made understandable. God is fully just to elect some to salvation yet not all to salvation, because we all deserve eternal damnation.

Thirdly, let us look at what Paul says about man's responsibility in election. See verse 19-20: "You will say to me then, 'Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?' But who are you, O man, to answer back to God?" The second largest objection to election is that if God is fully sovereign over man's salvation, then how could anyone be condemned to hell? That is, if God has not chosen some for salvation (this is the doctrine of reprobation, to which some would refer to as "double predestination"), why are they held accountable? For "who can resist his will?" Paul's answer: "Who are you, O man, to answer back to God?" In other words, "Shut up and sit down." We, as humans, do not have the ability to understand God's ways nor discern his thoughts, therefore we have no place to object what he has set in place. And what is that that he has set in place? Human responsibility. For "whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him" (John 3:36). Here, Paul uses the analogy of a piece of pottery talking back to it's potter, as if a clay pot has the right to stand up to his creator and tell him that he is wrong in doing what he is doing--surely we ought not to do this with God. Man's responsibliy in election is to not talk back to God, but trust that his ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9).

Let us take note there that this is not Calvanism vs. Aminianism; this is biblical interpretation.

Here is my argument: you cannot read the entirety of scripture (or even the short chapter of Romans 9) without dealing with the doctrine of election, and the right interpretation thereof. Not only is the doctrine of election explicit in scripture, its most popular counterarguments are dealt with in Romans 9. This is why Romans 9 is so important, and I truly believe that every Christian and every church would be better off if we took the words of Romans 9 to heart all the more often.

So, what is your understanding of election? Do you think that it is unjust? Because Paul (slash the Bible and therefore God) says otherwise. Do you think it neglects human responsiblity? Because Paul (slash the Bible and therefore God) says otherwise as well.

So, what do we do with election? Answer: we praise God. In fact, this is one of the greatest reasons that we can praise God, because the doctrine of elections tells us both that God chose us in love before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-5) and that we are secure in him knowing that since he did not chose us because of anything in us, he will not let us go because of anything we do now (1 Peter 1:2-4). We are secure in him because it was not our doing that saved us, but his election.

The outworking of the doctrine of election is praise, and if we neglect this great doctrine, we neglect one of the greatest reasons to praise our great God.

1. Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology.